EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – KTSM 9 Sports previewed the entire Borderland football scene for the Ultimate Football Guide episode of Studio 9, which debuted on Friday, Aug. 18 on KTSM.
The 9 Overtime crew of Colin Deaver, Sam Guzman, Ed Stansbury and Jason Flores came together to discuss the top teams and players in the Borderland heading into the 2023 high school football season.
In Class 6A, Pebble Hills, Eastwood and Franklin were the picks to reign supreme, while in Class 5A, Del Valle, Chapin and Canutillo turned heads. Riverside is still favored to be the top dog in Class 4A.
As for the best players around the region, there’s currently nine players with Division 1 FBS or FCS college offers heading into the 2023 season. The 9OT crew revealed the 2023 KTSM ‘Fine 9’ best players in the Borderland as part of the show.
Here is a look at the 2023 Fine 9 best players in the region, as selected by the 9OT team.
Shay Smith, Franklin senior quarterback – Smith has been on varsity since his freshman year at Franklin. He threw for 3,727 yards and 42 touchdowns in 2022. He has offers from six Division I schools, including Houston, North Texas, SMU and UTEP.
Gael Ochoa, Pebble Hills senior quarterback – Ochoa led the Spartans to their best season in program history in 2022, throwing for 2,029 yards, 24 touchdowns and rushing for 453 yards and nine scores. Ochoa is committed to play at UTEP.
Evan Minjarez, Eastwood senior quarterback – Minjarez burst onto the scene as a dual-threat QB in 2022, throwing for 2,749 yards and rushing for 1,075 yards while recording 48 total touchdowns. He has an FCS offer to play quarterback at Austin Peay.
Chris Davis, Bel Air senior wide receiver/defensive back – Davis played on both sides of the football for the upstart Highlanders in 2022, catching 57 passes for 1,084 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also making 42 tackles. He has an offer from Eastern New Mexico and is also receiving interest from UTEP.
John Sierra, Centennial senior linebacker – Sierra made 90 tackles a season ago, 50 of them solo for a Hawks squad that nearly qualified for the state championship game. Sierra also had 22 tackles for loss as a junior. He has an offer from the New Mexico Lobos.
Manny Fuller, Del Valle junior running back/safety – Fuller was one of Del Valle’s best kept secrets in 2022, rushing for 435 yards and eight touchdowns, while also making 17 tackles with an interception. He’s really burst onto the scene between his sophomore and junior seasons, picking up offers from Houston, Texas Tech and UTEP and looks primed for a big junior year.
TJ Locklin, Canutillo junior linebacker – Locklin started on varsity in 2022 as a sophomore, collecting 82 tackles, along with an interception for an Eagles team that made the Regional Semifinals. He appears to be ready to have a massive junior year and is receiving interest from several nearby colleges.
Ryan Estrada, El Dorado sophomore running back – Estrada did it all for El Dorado as a freshman in 2022, rushing for 1,326 yards and scoring 19 total touchdowns. If he continues the trend he’s currently on, Estrada could end up as one of the best players to come out of El Paso in recent years. The sophomore already has offers from Baylor, SMU, Texas Tech, UTSA and UTEP.
Daveon Singleton, Chapin sophomore quarterback/Athlete – Like Estrada, Singleton took El Paso by storm as a freshman for Chapin in 2022. Inserted as the starting QB midway through the year, Singleton threw for 731 yards and nine touchdowns, while rushing for 902 yards and 14 scores. He will be electric again in 2023 and has offers from Hawai’i and SMU to show for it.
